WELCOME TO SPACE TO GROUND, YOUR WEEKLY LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON BOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. I’M DAN HUOT.
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THE STATION’S TRAFFIC PLAN GOT A SHAKEUP THIS WEEK. RUSSIAN EXPERTS ARE STILL INVESTIGATING WHAT CAUSED THE LOSS OF PROGRESS 59 AND MADE THE DECISION TO DELAY THE NEXT CREW ROTATION. TERRY VIRTS, SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI AND ANTON SHKAPLEROV ARE GETTING AN EXTRA MONTH IN SPACE, NOW SCHEDULED TO RETURN HOME IN EARLY JUNE. THIS DELAY MINIMIZES THE AMOUNT OF TIME ONLY THREE CREWMEMBERS ARE ON BOARD TO MAXIMIZE SCIENCE AND RESEARCH. THE NEXT CREW, KJELL LINDGREN, KIMIYA YUI AND OLEG KONONENKO ARE NOW SET TO LAUNCH IN LATE JULY. FOR THE LATEST, GO TO NASA.GOV/LAUNCHSCHEDULE.
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THE STATION IS HOME TO RANGE OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS, RANGING FROM FLUIDS TO FLAMES. TERRY VIRTS WORKED THIS WEEK INSIDE THE COMBUSTION INTEGRATED RACK TO PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING FLAME EXTINGUISHMENT EXPERIMENT, OR FLEX-2, WHICH STUDIES HOW DIFFERENT FUEL MIXTURES BURN IN SPACE WITHOUT THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY. THIS COULD LEAD TO BETTER FIREFIGHTING SAFETY ON SPACECRAFT AND ALSO TO IMPROVED FUELS FOR VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT HERE ON EARTH, BY CREATING MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MIXTURES OF CHEMICALS THAT BURN CLEANER AND PRODUCE LESS SOOT.
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THIS WEEK, RICHARD WANTS TO KNOW IF THE ISS EVER REQUIRES REPAIR FROM MINIATURE METEOROID IMPACTS.

WHILE NO MAJOR SYSTEM ONBOARD THE STATION HAS EVER BEEN HIT AND REQUIRED REPAIR, SOME SMALLER IMPACTS DO REQUIRE CREW ATTENTION. A 2MM SIZED PARTICLE IS EXPECTED TO CONTACT STATION EVERY FEW MONTHS, WHICH CAN CREATE SHARP EDGES THAT COULD DAMAGE AN ASTRONAUT’S GLOVES DURING A SPACEWALK. THE ASTRONAUTS DO HAVE SPECIAL CLAMPS AND COVERS TO INSTALL ON DAMAGED SECTIONS, OR THEY CAN AVOID THE AREAS ALTOGETHER.
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MAKE SURE TO KEEP SENDING YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS USING THE HASHTAG SPACE-TO-GROUND…WE’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.